Sun and Moon, Night and Day
by HLamp
Summary: A series of unrelated oneshots that pertain to Danny/Valerie, that ask the questions: Can you love what you hunt? And is love worth the price of death? Also contains some Vlad.
1. Cruelty in Disguise

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_**

**Confession time, guys.**

**I love Danny/Valerie. In fact, it's my favorite DP couple, even more so than Danny/Vlad (Vlad is actually my favorite character, I just prefer him in a more canon/antagonistic role when it pertains to his relationship with Danny, is all; not that I don't enjoy my fair share of Pompous Pep, that is).**

**There's something about forbidden love that's just fucking awesome. And I don't mean lame Twilight forbidden love where nothing is actually forbidden. More like West Side Story forbidden love, except that no one ends up dancing during epic ghost fights (Although I would pay to see that).**

**So I love Danny/Valerie. It was a canon relationship that actually made complete sense and was just a little bit on the tragic side.**

**And it still involves Vlad, which is just added awesomeness.**

**Speaking of Vlad...**

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I don't own Danny Phantom or any of its awesome characters.**

_**WARNINGS: **_**Hinted future character death.**

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><p>Vlad supposes that he could tell her, or even tell Danny.<p>

But watching them fight from the shadows, watching as ectoblast after ectoblast hits home and knocks the other party down for a few fleeting seconds, is just too damn fun.

But then sometimes, following Danny in intangible form, he sees them together. Holding hands, kissing, even simply talking.

He is fully aware that one of these says, sooner or later, one of them is going to hurt the other.

And he knows how damaged they'll be on the insides after that.

He keeps picturing Danny finally snapping, or forgetting his own strength, and killing the over-matched girl. He can't help but envision the poor boy pulling off her mask and seeing the face of his fallen lover, and dropping to his knees, fear and self-loathing painting his eyes.

Vlad knows very well that he should either drop this silly little game of his or tell one of them who the other is.

But then again, he isn't exactly known for his kindness.


	2. Perfection

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_**

**I felt awful writing this one. It's sad because it's all a lie. **

**Don't you know that happiness and superpowers never go together, you two?**

**Also, I tried to make it so that you can't tell if this is from Danny's POV or Valerie's. Hopefully it was effective.**

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own Danny Phantom, unfortunately. If I did, the emphasis would have been more on this relationship and Danny and Vlad's antagonistic dealings.**

_**WARNINGS: **_**Aside from general sadness? Not much.**

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><p>You and I together.<p>

Against Amity Park, our enemies, the world.

Just the two of us.

We have the world at our fingertips, in the palm of our hands.

Nothing can stop us.

Not Vlad, not our parents, not even our friends.

I can see it in your eyes, that you want this too.

You want everything that I've ever wanted, everything that I ever will want.

You've become a part of me now, a piece of my core that will never burn away.

Holding your hand, I can will the darkness away, all the ghosts, all the nonbelievers.

The future is ours, ours for the taking.

And I want nothing more than to share that future with you.

And nothing can take this away from us, this perfect piece of happiness.


	3. Red

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_**

**One of my favorite subplots from this series was the story arc between Danny, Valerie, and Vlad. Seriously, pure storytelling gold right there.**

**I've realized that most of these chapter will have to involve Vlad, simply because of Danny and Valerie's double lives, and how they both have so much to do with him.**

**But that's ok, because he's my favorite anyway. :)**

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I don't own Danny Phantom; Butch Hartman does.**

_**WARNINGS: **_**Mild language.**

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><p>Sometimes she wonders why the suit fits so perfectly, so snug against her flesh.<p>

Almost like a second skin.

And every once in a while, she catches it acting on its own. Yes, it only does what Valerie herself wants it to do, but it's almost as if it performs the action before her brain can even register thinking the thought itself.

Whoever this Vlad is, he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to ghost hunting, that's for damn sure.

But no matter how amazing the suit is, how strong her weapons, or how fast her glider can fly, it doesn't compare to Phantom.

He's the real thing, Valerie finally understands. He's not just some moaning green monster popping out of some pimply-faced little kid's closet, but a genuine threat, a force to be reckoned with.

Causing destruction and bringing violence wherever he appears, Phantom is the closest thing to an arch rival Valerie's ever had. She understands perfectly why the mysterious Vlad has appointed her to end his sorry existence for good.

But even still...there's something about his eyes, the way they glimmer in the dark whenever they fight. She could swear that she's gazed into those emerald hues for years, not just for the last few months.

It's funny, she thinks. Everything about him seems so familiar, the way he looks, the way he fights...even the way he's been looking at her lately whenever they meet in the heat of battle late at night.

It's almost like he's human...just like her.

But she kills that thought before it has time to fester and choke her mind.

The Red Huntress allows no seedlings of doubt to keep her from carrying out her master's demands, and ending Phantom's existence for good.


	4. Misfire

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

**I think I am far too in love with present tense. I mean, I would never use it to write a novel, or anything, but for all these little drabbles, it's perfect. **

**I suppose this could be a companion drabble to the first chapter of this fic, although you can take it as a standalone if you like.**

**This one is more so about Danny and Vlad, rather than Valerie, although she does make an appearance and plays a key role in the themes of this one. Although she certainly isn't aware of what she's really done.**

**I think I really like this drabble simply because I got to mess with Vlad's deterioration/breakdown of character. It's not like I think I write his character the best (Far from it, really), but it would be nice to see some more writers on this site giving him more character (Come on, guys, he isn't always an evil asshat).**

**Although most of the of the time he is.**

**Disclaimer: Butch Hartman owns Danny Phantom. Although for Christmas, I wouldn't mind if he gave it to me.**

**Warnings: Major character death.**

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><p>"He's dead...I...I did it." Her face lights up, and she grins up at him with a cruelly ignorant sort of euphoria.<p>

Vlad inhales sharply as he lifts the white sheet with tentative fingers once more, and bites back a hiss as his eyes lock with the boy's cold stare.

Valerie's look of bliss melts away momentarily, as she gazes up at her employer with concern. "Mr. Masters? Are...are you ok?"

"I just..." He turns to shoot her a strained smile, and says, "I just can't express how...proud...I am of you, Miss Gray." He's thankful that she doesn't seem to realize that the words don't quite reach his eyes.

The gleeful look returns instantaneously, and she throws her arms around him, as if he's family. "I told you I wouldn't let you down." And then she shoots one last triumphant glance at the covered body, and darts out the door. However, her head pokes back into the room, and, catching Vlad's eye, she exclaims, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Masters!"

Vlad crumples to the floor just as she exits. His hand, clutching onto the white sheet with an iron grip, drags the cloth off of the dead body as he falls, showing the corpse of none other than the ghost boy.

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><p>Danny awakes, inhaling deeply.<p>

Only, he can't inhale.

Looking down in confusion, he sees the black and white form of Phantom, and feels his chest, his white fingertips slowly ghosting over the black surface. Where there is normally the faint beating of a distant human heart, now there is only silence.

Hollow silence.

"Wha—"

"Daniel..." Danny looks up in shock, only to find his eyes locked on Vlad Masters, who stands in the doorway, immersed in shadow.

He shoots the man a confused look, and asks, "What's going on? Vlad, I don't under—"

"Danny..." Right then Danny knows something is very wrong. Vlad is the only person who adamantly refuses to call him by anything other than 'Daniel'. Vlad steps forward, the muted glow coming off of Danny's ghost form falling across his pained features. He bites his lip as Danny continues to stare into his eyes, and whispers, "Danny, you're dead."

The words rush at Danny like a brick wall to the face, his chest compressing and his head feeling as if someone's taken a hammer to it. "What...what do you mean?" But his words sound strange to him, almost like an echo.

Like a ghost's, he realizes, horror staining his features.

Vlad's eyes soften, and he moves forward, arms outstretched. "Daniel, I—"

"No! Don't touch me!" Danny screams, his weightless form floating upwards off of the metallic slab, out of the man's reach. "You killed me! You killed me!"

The older ghost sighs, and transforms into Plasmius, ghosting upwards to meet Danny. "Daniel, you know that, despite all of our differences, I would never...never..." But even he can't seem to bring himself to say the words, for his eyes have started to dampen, and his expression is dripping of guilt and fear.

"I would _never_," he repeats, his voice breaking.

And now Danny is beginning to remember.

The last face he recalls isn't Vlad's, but...but _hers_.

_Valerie_.

Danny's fists burst with spheres of vibrant green energy, and he rushes at Plasmius, crying out in hatred and terror. "Why? Why couldn't you just leave us alone? Why couldn't you just go away and let me be happy?"

Throwing ectoblast after ectoblast, he pushes Plasmius, who for some reason has refused to fight back, into the corner, hitting him repeatedly as he screams out his fury. Danny stops when he realizes that he's no longer attacking Plasmius, but Vlad, who has shifted back into his human form, cringing into the metallic wall.

Unable to shed the tears he feels building up inside, Danny drops to his knees, his chest aching with this hollowness that he is so unused to. "_Why_?" he whispers, staring up at Vlad's crouched form in sorrow.

"It was a misfire, Daniel..._you_ were supposed to kill _her_." He covers his face with his hand, his shoulders shaking, and Danny knows that he's holding back a sob. "She was holding you back."

Vlad reaches out to draw the boy into an embrace, but his hands ghost through the boy's shoulders as he attempts to pull him into the hug. He swallows, and whispers in a harsh tone, "Your love was holding you back."

And as he kneels in silence as he watches the older man break down into quiet sobs, Danny realizes that he isn't the only one being held back by love.


End file.
